Goodness and grace

More times than I can count, Brad and I have come to the end of our ability and the bottom of our savings and have found blessings instead.

Each other.

A home.

Food on the table.

Our loving family and friends.

Our church.

The clothing on our backs.

And so much more.


This time, we also found freedom from our medical debts and a large financial gift from our church family, who knew how hard it had become for us to make ends meet.

I hesitated to write about this, because I felt a little guilty enjoying these undeserved, unearned blessings! This post reminded me that God delights in giving good gifts to His children, and that it's alright, it's encouraged, that we enjoy them!

So with a thankful, beyond grateful, joyful heart, I ask you to celebrate with me, friends!

One of our small group leaders approached us a couple weeks ago with a financial gift from our church. A large gift. Because they knew how hard it was for us to make ends meet lately. The size that will allow us to replace the broken windshield on our car, put food on our table, buy a few gifts for our family, fill an Operation Christmas Child box, and put something in our savings account. We are so grateful and floored with the generosity of our church family to us.

I recently humbled myself and applied for charity care for our medical bills. Paying pennies on thousands owed each month was squeezing our already tight budget, and I found myself deciding between a $2 box of cereal and a box of Kleenex. Deciding whether or not to buy cheese, or a bag of apples. Telling myself that I could make sandwich bread instead of buying a $1.50 loaf. Feeding our child from our plates instead of buying pureed and pouch-packaged baby food. Cutting every corner I thriftily could.

And then, all four of our medical bills were either reduced or forgiven, and we were able to pay the remaining balance this month.

Hallelujah!

So, we bought some meat for our freezer. Fresh veggies and fruits for the fridge. Sandwich bread and Kleenex. (Because the baby has a cold, and the hubby needs sandwiches when he packs his lunch for work). We feel abundantly blessed, and look forward to this new freedom to bless others. And to save! And to share our joy with you.